Broadcom offers to buy Qualcomm in what would be the largest tech deal ever

The semiconductor giant Broadcom has proposed to buy its rival Qualcomm for about $130 billion in what would be the largest tech deal ever.

Broadcom's offer comes amid a legal battle between Qualcomm and Apple. The chipmaker company could lose one of its biggest customers in a unit that earns most of its revenue.

Broadcom CEO Hock Tan was at the White House on Thursday to announce the company's relocation to the US from Singapore. That move means the deal would bypass oversight from the regulator that scrutinizes deals between American and foreign companies, but the Department of Justice is still likely to raise antitrust concerns.

Broadcom has proposed to buy its rival Qualcomm in a semiconductor deal that would be the largest-ever takeover in tech.

In a statement Monday, Broadcom said it offered Qualcomm shareholders $60 in cash and $10 a share in Broadcom shares. The offer represents a 28% premium to Qualcomm's closing price of $54.85 on Thursday, before initial reports of deal talks sent Qualcomm shares up 12% on Friday. It was valued at about $130 billion on a pro forma basis, including $25 billion of net debt.

A deal would make Broadcom the third-largest maker of chips and other components that go into smartphones behind Intel and Samsung, according to Bloomberg. Broadcom's bid comes amid a global legal battle between Qualcomm and Apple that could cost the semiconductor company one of its largest customers. Apple is disputing Qualcomm's practice of charging a share of the total price of iPhones and other Apple devices as a licensing fee for its patents.

"Our proposal provides Qualcomm stockholders with a substantial and immediate premium in cash for their shares, as well as the opportunity to participate in the upside potential of the combined company," Hock Tan, Broadcom's CEO, said in a statement.

"This complementary transaction will position the combined company as a global communications leader with an impressive portfolio of technologies and products," Tan said. "We would not make this offer if we were not confident that our common global customers would embrace the proposed combination."

Tan was at the White House with President Donald Trump last Thursday to announce the company headquarters' relocation to the US. This move means both companies can easily make deals without the review of the Committee on Foreign Investment, which regulates foreign investments in US-based companies.

A merger between the fourth- and sixth-largest semiconductor companies would still be scrutinized by the Department of Justice for antitrust concerns.